Salesbook holder



Oct. 17, 1950 B. K. SLONNEGER ETAL SALESBOOK HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed July 2, 1946 INVENTORS. BRUCE K. SLONNEGER 6- CLIFFORD S.SLONNEGER- B Y I ////?f ATTORLIBYS.

Oct. 17, 1950 B. K. SLONNEGER ETAL 2,526,090

SALESBOOK HOLDER 2 Mom s a m? v 9 N h N m S E w o o h. w; m .1 i s w m hE0 CF UF 2 R u a Filed July 2, 1946 ers now available have holder whichmay be Patented Oct. 17, 1950 Bruce K.

Washington,

Slonneger and Clifford S. Slonneger,

111.; said Clifford S. Slonneger assignor to said Bruce K. SlonnegerApplication July 2, 1946, Serial No. 681,012

22 Claims.

1 This invention relates to sales book holders and includes provisionsfor the retention of so-called "1oose'leaf sheets, the storage of carboncopies thereof and the provision of a hard firm surface upon which towrite.

Although many 7 have been developed heretofore, none of the holders meetall of the requirements of all sales people, since there areicertainprerequisites unique to the delivery men and other outdoor Workers whichare not in common with requirements of a shop keeper. The deficienciesof sales book holdpromoting the use of the so-called autographicregisters where portability is not essential. These devices are providedwith a firm writing surface, and a convenient holder for unused andcarbon copies, but are impractical of use except as a fixture.

This invention is directed to the provision of a holder for sales books,invoice sheets, or any other type of form upon which information is tobe tallied, a structure which is compact and light in weight, a holderwhich may be readilycarried about on the person and a holder whichpossesses advantages of the more cumbersome and more expensiveautographic registers, such for example as the provision of means forthe protectionof the sheets against mutilation, the provision of a firmwriting surface, and the provision of means for the retention ofduplicate sheets- An object holder which is designed with a, compartmentfor the storage of carbon copies or duplicates of the order blank. v

Another object of the invention is to provide a sheet holder which isformed with firm writing surface for the invoice or order blank.

Another object of the invention is to provide a holder from which sheetsor order books may be detached or inserted with facility and dispatch.Another object of the invention is to provide a manipulated with aminimum loss of time and effort when adjusting the sheets for use, whenhandling the sheets for storage or adjusting the holder into its closedposition. I

Further objects of the invention reside in the provision of a holderwhich is economic of manufacture, durable of structure, light in weightand small and compact in size.

Other objects and advantages more or less ancillary to the foregoingand'the mannerin which -.all the various objects are realized willappear in the following description, which, considered in types of salesbook holders been a great factor in of the invention is to provide asheet connection with the accompanying drawings, sets forth thepreferred embodiment of the. inven-.

tion.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of sales book holder embodyingtrating the manner of use thereof;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sales book holder with a sheet inwriting position thereon;

Fig. 3 1st. perspective view illustrating the disposition of duplicatecopies;

. Fig. 4 is a'detailed view of the sheet holderand a fragmentary sectionof the holder;

Fig. 5.15 a cross section taken on a plane indicated by the line 5-5 inFig. 2;

Fig; 6 is a perspective view of the sheet holding plate;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of the holder,

the section-being taken on a plane indicated by the line |-'l in Fig. 2;Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of a second form of a, sales bookholder;

. Fig.9,is asideelevation of-theholder illustrat- 7 ing the position ,ofthe parts for writing;

Fig, 10 is a side elevation of the holder when adjusted to its openposition;

Fig. 11 is a cross section taken on a plane indicated by the line I !-iIin Fig. 9;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the sheet holding plate and afragmentary portion of the back plate; I

Fig. 13 is a detail view partially in section showing a sheet mountingpost;

Fig. 14 is aplan view thereof; and

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a modification of the holder of Fig. 8.

Both embodiments of the holder illustrated herein are adapted for theretention of loose leaf are used for sales slips and the like,particularly those having a carbon applied to the back thereof for theproduction of duplicate copies. It willbe understood, however, that theholders may be used with sheets of various other types, including thosein which no record copies are to be made, and it will be furtherunderstood, that the advantages of the holder according to the'presentinvention may be realized.

under any circumstances in which it is desired to retain the sheets,make entries thereon, and sub- The form of holder illustrated in Figs. 1to '1,

inclusive, comprisesabottom plate 20 having. its

' sides andendturned upwardly to form fiangesZI and 22, respectively,-the structure thus formed the invention and illus-- face of the plate23.

the sheet or sheets in superposed constituting a shallow trough open atone end. An intermediate plate 23 (Fig. 6) overlies the bottom plate andis disposed in its operative position in parallel relation thereto. Thesides of he plate 23 are turned downwardly to form flanges 24, and oneend is folded around a wire 25 which extends beyond the flanges 25. Theends of the wire 25 are received in holes 26 formed in the flanges 2|adjacent the open end of the bottom plate, thus forming a hinge betweenthe bottom plate 20 and the'intermediate plate 23. The ends of the wiremay be peened or upset in any other manner to effect the retentionthereof between the flanges 2i. A top plate 2?, which normally overliesthe intermediate plate, is formed with a depending end flange 28 andside flanges 29. The width of the plate 27 is designed to facilitate thefree sliding movement thereof between the flanges 2| of the bottomplate. The flange 28 in the top plate is disposed in opposed relation tothe flange 22 in the bottom plate, the two plates when arranged insuperposed relation forming a shallow boX of prismoidal configuration.

The portions 38 of the flanges 29 are folded for sliding movement overthe edges of the flanges 25 of the intermediate plate; hence, when it isdesired to flle a copy sheet within the storage compartment defined bythe bottom plate and the flanges thereon, the top plate 2'! may be movedoutwardly relative to the intermediate plate (Fig. 3) until the shoulder3! (Fig. 7) in the flange 29 engages the wire or hinge pin the bottomplate Zil may then be swung from the intermediate plate 25 and the copysheet revolved into contiguous relation with the inner Rings 33 for theretention of loose sheets are provided in the end of the plate 23opposit the hinge pin 25. While these rings ma be of any of the varioustypes, one suitable form comprises a single strand of wire formed with aslightly bent transverse intermediate portion 34 which is retained byfolded tabs 36 of the plate 23. The end of the plate 23 is formed withnotches 37 disposed in such spaced relation as is customarily employedin punched .sheets of the size and type contemplated herein.

The strand of wire beyond the anchored ortion thereof is disposed withinthenotches 3i and bent upwardly and outwardly to form rings 33 whichenvelop the end of the plate and terminate with the free ends 38 thereofin springpressed relation with the lower face of the plate. Through thecompressive effort of the loop 36 on the intermed a e ortion of thewire. which has a slight arch bend in it, the rings are .nor-

mally retained in closed position. However, they ma be rotated to freeends 38 from the plate so that a pad 40 of loose sheets, a sales book,or the like may be engaged by the rings. The cover plate 27 is formedwith slots 3! therein for clearance with the rings 33 so that the holdermay be completely closed as shown in Fig. 2.

From this position, the cover may be retracted to the position of Fig.l, and the sheet or sheets to be written upon may be pushedtoward the 97rings 33 and arranged to overlie the upper surface of the plate 21,andthe plate 21 may then be pushed inwardly to its closed position withrelation with the cover pate as at 2 (Fig. 2). A firm writing surface isthus provided, and there is no possibilitv of trans r of the writ nimpressions to sheets other'than those required for use. The

,. cover plate 2! is formed with a depression 43 in its outer end tofacilitate manipulation thereof.

The lower portion of the end flange 28 is bent inwardly to form a flange44 which is frictionally engaged with the rolled end 45 of the plate 23when the plate is adjusted to its closed position. The bottom plate 20is locked against outward swinging movement by the coaction of catchfingers 66 with the ends of the flanges ofthe top' plate, which arereceived between the fingers and the plate 20 when the top plate is inits closed position. The fingers it are disposed in parallel relationwith the bottom plate 28 and preferably formed as an integral structurefrom plates t! which are spot Welded or otherwise secured to the flange22. The plates 41 are further provided with inwardly directed wings 48which are adapted to engage and align the adjacent end of the sheets 40When the holder is closed.

After entries have been made on the sheet 12, the top plate is pulledoutwardly for a short distance to release the catch 46, then the bottomthe practice to issue customer slips, some of the may to l before therecord filing operation. The unused sheets to are retained between theintermediate and top plates and used sheets d9 between the intermediateand bottom plates. The unused sheets may be held in position by a springsteel plate 5!) compressively engaged with the sheets and the bottomplate 23. The spring plate is held in position by the rings 33 whichpass through holes in the upper marginal edge thereof.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 8 to 14 is of thesame general character as the form described above. Like the other form,the holder embodies top and bottom plates, which form a box or enclosurefor the sheets, and an intermediate plate upon which the sheets aremounted. In this embodiment, the top plate 53 is formed with dependingside flanges 6! having 'rounded'ends 63 of the side flanges, thusforming an end B l for the sheet enclosure. The bottom plate 65 isformed with upwardly directed side flanges-58 of about half the depth ofthe flanges 6!, the ends 5? of the flanges 66 being in the form of aquadrantof a circle. The bottom plate is bent to form a semi-circularportion 88 adjacent the ends 6'! of the side flanges, the curved portion68 forming the opposite end of the sheet holder, and being adapted toflt around the curved ends 62 of the top plate flanges when the sheetholder is closed. The intermediate plate is formed with a dependingflange H at one end thereof, the length of the flange being less thanthe width of the plate "iii, and the lower portion thereof being foldedover a wire which serves as a hinge pin 12. The end of the bottom plate65 is fabricated with tabs 13 on each side of the flange H which arelikewise folded over the wire 12 to form a hinge joint between theintermediate and bottom plates.

The sheet holding'posts T5 are secured to the end 'of the plate "."3opposite the flange 7| in order to retain both unused and used sheets onthe plate iii. These'posts are preferably of the form illustrated inFig. 13, consisting preferably of afhard fiber crmetal tube 16 held incrimped engagement within a hole ll pierced in the plate l are inwriting position,

10. The ring portion of the paper holder is formed of a single strap ofspring steel having an end portion 18 which slides in the lower end ofthe tube 16 and is fluted for frictional engagement with the inner wallof the tube. The remaining portion of the spring is bent to form a semicircular arm 19 which extends from the lower end of the tube and isadapted to overlie the upper portion of the tube and exert a slightcompressive effort thereon. When it is desired to insert or removepapers from the improved binder post, the arm 19 may be flexed from theupper end of the post andthe perforate sheets then passed through theopening. Two such posts are preferably provided, the unused sheets 80ordinarily being retained by the upper portions of the tubes 16 and theused sheets by the lower portions thereof. The curved arms 19 serve toretain and guide the sheets as they are transferred from the upper tothe lower face of plate 10. The height of the tubes 16 and the diameterof the semi-circular arms ill of the binding posts are of suchproportion as to accommodate the enclosure thereof within the box whenit is closed.

In order to retain the engagement with the bottom and intermediateplates, the side flanges 6| of the plate 60 are die struck adjacenttheir lower edges throughout the greater portion oftheir length to formledges or ribsBl (Fig. 11) the outer edges of the inter- I mediate platebeing formed to ride upon the upper surface of such ledges. The loweredges of the flanges 6i ride on the hinge portion 13 of the bottomplate, the top plate thus being retained between the other two plates,but being slidable relative thereto from the closed position illustratedin Fig. 8 to the open position illustrated in Fig. 10. A notch 82,having a vertical end wall 83' therein, is formed in the lower edge ofeach flange Hi to engage the rolled hinge tabs 13 and delimit themovement of the top plate when it is adjusted in its distended position.In this position, the sheets 80 are exposed to accommodate theadjustment thereof from the upper face of the plate 10 to the topthereon. When the sheets the top plate may be moved back to the positionshown in Fig. 9, where a detent notch 85 adjacent the end thereof willengage the rolled tabs 13 in the bottom plate. In order to. retain theholder in its completely closed position, a third pair of detent notches85 adjacent the end of the flanges is engaged by the flange 73 of thebottom plate. The outer portion 86 of the end flange 64 of the top plateunderlies the end of the bottom plate 65 in this position. A1s0, therounded forward end portion 62 of the top the end portion 63 of thebottom plate to restrain oscillation thereof about the hinge pin 12.

The intermediate plate i0 is preferably made of a resilient materialsuch as spring steel, and is bent as shown in Fig. 12 to form parallelupper and lower lands 8! and an inclined body portion 88. Normally theangle formed by the inclined of plate 6!] for writing top plate inoperative plate flanges are received within portion 88 rides on theshoulder 8|, and the intermediate plate by virtue of its resilence tendsto elevateitself slightly as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, thus causing thetubes 16 to extend above the surface of the top plate, when the topplate is retracted. The end portion'68 of the bottom plate is formedwith two slots 89 (Fig. 14) for clearance over the spring arms 19 of thebinding posts when the plate is elevated. A heavy sheet of cardboard orfiber 9!] is preferably mounted in the sheet.

6 on the tubes I6 immediately above the intermediate plate 10 to supportthe depress the intermediate plate in order to facilitate the reentrantengagement of the binding posts beneath the cover plate, a is hinged tothe top plate by rivets 92 passing through the flanges 6! adjacent theinner end of the top plate. The lower transverse portion of the bail 9|is adapted to slide between the plate 10 and the cardboard 99. As thetop plate is moved toward closed position, the bail engages the inclinedportion 88 of the plate 10 and effects the depression thereof.

In the use of the sheet holder, the top plate is pulled back the extentlimited by detent notches 83, a sheet or sheets are next drawn from theenclosure below the top plate and arranged in superposed relationthereof, then the plate is pushed back to the position limited by thedetent notches 84. After the entries are completed, if it is desired toremove the sheets this may be done by merely slipping the sheets outbetween the upper ends of the tubes 16 and the free ends of the springarms 19. If it is desired to retain duplicate sheets, the top andintermediate plates are elevated and the sheets are turned about thespring arms 19 to the rear face of plate ID.

This may be most conveniently done with the bottom plate may be closedupon the duplicate sheets and the top plate 60 retracted to its closedposition. During the latter operation, the intermediate plate will bedepressed thus effecting the retention of the holder in its closedposition.

With the form of posts 15 illustrated herein, when it is desired toremove a sheet from the tube 76, it is pulled upward and toward thelower end of the sheet, causing it to slip out between the top of thetube I6 and the spring 19. This can be done without tearing out theperforations When it is desired to transfer a sheet to the rear of plate10, the sheet is pulled upwardly, and-slightly in a direction away fromthe holder so that the springs 19 are flexed outwardly by the tension ofthe sheet so that the overhanging ends of the springs are aligned withthe tops of the posts, permitting the sheets to be transferred from theposts 16 to the springs 19.

The form of sheet holder illustrated in Figs. 8 to 14 inclusive may bemodified as illustrated in Fig. 15 to provide it with an alternativemethod of depressing the sheet-holdin plate as the holder is closed. Theplate 19 adjacent the rings 15 is formed with laterally extending ears9A- which are turned up to form a pair of cams which are engaged by theforward end of the top plate 69 to cam the plate Hi downward as theholder is closed. The ears 94 are formed with an initial rising edge 95which depresses the plate Hi and with a land 96 against which the topplate 50 bears when the holder is in writing position, as in Fig. 9. Theadditional cam surfaces 91 further depress the plate when the holder isadjusted to its completely closed position. When the cam arrangement ofFig. 15 is adopted, the detent notches 84 may be omitted, since, as thetop plate is slid over the sheets from the position of Fig. 10 to thewritin position of Fig. 9, re sistance is encountered when the forwardedge of the top plate engages the cam contour 91 which thus defines thenormal writing position of the top plate. I

Althougnthe foregoing description is necesblank sheets 80. To

bail 9| (Fig. 11)

sarily of a detailed character, in order that the invention may becompletely set forth, it is to be understood that the specificterminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, and thatvarious rearrangements of parts and modifications of detail may beresorted to without departing. from the scope or spirit of the inventionas herein claimed.

We claim:

1. A sheet holder comprisin a bottom plate, a top plate, an intermediateplate therebetween, the intermediate and bottom plates being flexiblyjoined together at one end thereof, and means at the other end of theintermediate plate for holding sheets so that the sheets may be turnedto either side of the plate, the top plate being slidably mounted on theintermediate plate so as to be movable away from a position covering thesheets to a position in which the portion of the sheets adjacent theholding means is exposed.

2. A sheet holder comprising a mounting plate, holding means at one endof the mounting plate whereby sheets may be retained on one side of theplate and may be turned to the other side of the plate without detachingthe sheets, and cover plates adapted to protect the sheets, the coverplates being movable relative to the mounting plate to provide access tothe sheets, one cover plate sliding over the mounting plate, and meanswhereby the sliding cover plate in its closed position maintains themounting plate and the other cover plate in closed relation.

3. A sheet holder comprising a bottom plate, an intermediate plate, anda top plate, means for maintaining the three plates in spacedapproximately parallel relation, means for mounting sheets on theintermediate plate, the space between the top and intermediate platesbeing adapted to contain the sheets, and the space between theintermediate and bottom plates being adapted to contain used sheets, thetop plate being mounted for sliding movement relative to theintermediate plate to provide access to the sheets, the intermediate andbottom plates bein joined for relative angular movement to provideaccess to the space therebetween.

4. A sheet holder comprising a bottom plate, an intermediate plate, anda top plate, means for mounting sheets on the intermediate plate,

the space between the top and intermediate plates being adapted tocontain the sheets, and the space between the intermediate and bottomplates being adapted to contain used sheets, the top plate being engagedwith the intermediate plate for sliding movement relative thereto toprovide access to the sheets, the intermediate and bottom plates beingadapted for relative angular movement to provide access to the spacetherebetween, and means interlocking the bottom plate with the topplate, when the top plate is in closed position, to prevent the saidangular movement.

5. A sheet holder comprising a first part, a second part, the first andsecond parts being slidable relative to each other, and forming a box tocontain the sheets when slid to closed position, the first partincluding the bottom of the box, and the second part including the topof the box, and limiting detent means limiting the relative slidingmovement of the two parts and defining a position facilitating access tothe sheets contained in the box.

6. A sheet holder comprising a bottom plate, a top plate, anintermediate plate therebetween, a hinge between the intermediate andbottom plates at the first ends thereof, and means at the sec ond end ofthe intermediate plate for holding sheets so that the sheets may beturned to either side of the plate, the top plate being slidably mountedon the intermediate plate so as to be movable away from a positioncovering the sheets in the direction of the first end.

7. A sheet holder comprising a bottom plate, a top plate, anintermediate plate therebetween, a hinge between the intermediate andbottom plates at the first ends thereof, means at the second end of theintermediate plate for holding sheets, the top plate being slidablymounted on the intermediate plate so as to be movable away from aposition covering the sheets in the direction of the first end, andmeans on the top plate engaging the hinge to limit sliding movement ofthe top plate.

8. A sheet holder comprising a first plate, means at one end of thefirst plate for holding sheets thereon, a cover plate adapted to overliethe first plate and the sheets thereon, and slidably relative ,to thefirst plate to expose the sheets, a back plate joined to the first platefor relative angular movement therebetween, and means on the cover plateto restrain the back plate against angular movement when the cover plateoverlies the first plate.

9. A sheet holder comprising a resilient first plate, means at one endof the first plate for holding sheets thereon, a cover plate adapted tooverlie the first plate and the sheets thereon, and slidable relative tothe first plate to expose the sheets, and a back plate joined to thefirst plate,'the first plate being formed so as to be urged toward thecover plate by its own resilience so as to spring away from the backplate when the cover plate is slid to expose the sheets.

10. A sheet holder comprising a bottom plate, an intermediate plate anda top plate, means for maintaining the intermediate and top plates inspaced approximately parallel relation, means formounting sheets on theintermediate plate, the space between the top and intermediate platesbeing adapted to contain the sheets, and the space between theintermediate andbottom plates being adapted to contain used sheets, the

top plate being mounted for sliding movement relative to theintermediate plate to provide access to the sheets, the intermediateplate being resilient and being mounted so as to be biased by itsresilience away from the bottom plate to urge the sheets against the topplate.

11. A sheet holder comprising a first part forming the bottom and afirst end of a box and a second part forming the top and the second endof the box, a spring plate joined to the first part at the second endand curved so as to be biased from the first part at the first end, thesecond part being mounted for sliding movement rela tive to the firstpart to expose the first end of the spring plate, and means at the firstend of the spring plate for retaining sheets.

12. A sheet holder comprising a first part forming the bottom and afirst end of a box and a second part forming the top and the second endof the box, a spring plate joined to the first part at the second endand curved so as to be biased from the first part at the first end, thesecond part being mounted for sliding movement relative to the firstpart to expose the first end of the spring plate, means at the first endof the spring plate for retaining sheets, and a bail depending from thesecond part adapted to engage with and depress the spring plateasthesecond part moves to cover the spring plate.

'13. A sheet holdercomprising a first part forming the bottom and "afirst end of a box and a second part forming the top,-the sides and thesecond end of the box, a springplate joined to the first part at thesecond end and curved so as to be biased from the first part at thefirst end, the second part being mounted. for sliding'-move-' mentrelative to the. first part to :expose the first end of the springplate, inwardly directed ribs on the sides of the second part againstwhich 1 the spring plate bears to maintain cleararice between the springplate and the first part, and means at the first end of the springplatefor retaining sheets.

14. A sheet holder comprising a first part, a second part, the first andsecond parts being slidable relative to each other, and forming a box tocontain the sheets when slid to closed position, the first partincluding the bottom of the box, and the second part including the topof the box,

limiting detent means limiting the relative sliding movement of the twoparts and defining a position facilitating access to sheets contained inthe box, and intermediate detent means to retain the parts insubstantially closed position facilitating the use of the cover as aplaten on which sheets may be laid for writing thereon.

15. A sheet holder comprising a first part, a second part, the first andsecond parts being slidable relative to each other, and forming a box tocontain the sheets when slid to closed position, the first partincluding the bottom of the box, and the second part including the topof the box, a sheet mounting plate flexibly joined to the first part,limiting detent means limiting the relative sliding movement of the twoparts and defining a position facilitating access to sheets mounted onthe plate, and intermediate detent means to retain the parts insubstantially closed position facilitating the use of the cover as aplaten on which sheets may be laid for writing thereon.

16. A sheet holder comprising a resilient first plate, means at one endof the first plate for holding sheets thereon, a' cover plate adapted tooverlie the first plate and the sheets thereon, and slidable relative tothe first plate to expose the sheets, and a back plate joined to thefirst plate, the first plate being formed so as to be urged toward thecover plate by its own resilience so as to spring away from the backplate when the cover plate is slid to expose the sheets, and cam meanson the first plate adapted for engagement with the cover plate to forcethe first plate toward the back plate when the cover plate is slid tocover the sheets.

17. A sheet holder comprising a first plate, means at one end of thefirst plate for holding sheets thereon, a cover plate adapted to overliethe first plate and the sheets thereon, and slidable relative to thefirst plate to expose the sheets, and a back plate joined to the firstplate, the first plate being formed so as to be urged toward the coverplate by its own resilience so as to spring away from the back platewhen the cover plate is slid to expose the sheets, and

cam means on the first plate adapted for engagement with the cover plateto force the first plate toward the back plate when the cover plate isslid to cover the sheets, the cam means being formed with a broken edge,engagement of the cover plate with the break in the cam edge defining awriting position of the holder .with the cover plate adjacent its closedposition.

18. A sheet holder comprising a normally closed receptacle having atopmember and a bottom member spaced one from the other to receive a pileof sheets between them, a sheet retaining device supported in saidreceptacle and having means to engage one end portion of said pile ofsheets andprevent the movement of said pile lengthwise of said.receptacle, and means vfor connecting said top member with saidbottommemberlforimovement'with relation thereto from its. closed. position toaposition which permits the free end portion of the uppermost sheet ofsaid pile of sheets to be withdrawn from said pile and'thenfioward itsclosed position to a supporting position beneath the withdrawn portionof said uppermost sheet.

19. A sheet holder comprising a normally closed receptacle having a topmember and a bottom member spaced one from the other to receive a pileof sheets between them, a sheet supporting member in said receptacleextending lengthwise of'and connected with said bottom member and havingmeans remote from its connection with said bottom member for engagingthe adjacent end portion of a pile of sheets supported thereon andpreventing the movement or said pile lengthwise of said bottom member,and means for slidably connecting said top member with said bottommember for movement with relation thereto from its closed position to aposition which permits the free end portion of the uppermost sheet ofsaid pile of sheets to be withdrawn from said 'pile, and then towardsits closed position to a supporting position beneath the withdrawnportion of said uppermost sheet.

20. A sheet holder comprising a normally closed receptacle having a topmember and a bottom member spaced one from the other to receive a pileof sheets between them, a sheet supporting member in said receptacleextending lengthwise of and connected with said bottom member and havingmeans remote from its connection with said bottom member for engagingthe adjacent end portion of a pile of sheets supported thereon andpreventing the movement of said pile lengthwise of said bottom member,means for slidably connecting said top member with said bottom memberfor movement with relation thereto from its closed position to aposition which permits the free end portion of the uppermost sheet ofsaid pile of sheets to be Withdrawn from said pile, and then towards itsclosed position to a supporting position beneath the withdrawn portionof said uppermost sheet, and then to its fully closed position, andmeans controlled by said slidable member for releasably retaining thesame in each of said positions.

21. A sheet holder comprising a normally closed receptacle having a topmember and a bottom member spaced one from the other to receive a pileof sheets between them, a sheet supporting 7 11 position to an openposition to permit a sheet to be partially withdrawn from said pile, andthen to a position beneath the withdrawn sheet. 22. A sheet holdercomprisin a top member,

a bottom member and a sheet supporting and retaining member between saidtop and bottom members, and means for pivotally connecting adjacent endsof said bottom member and said supporting member and for pivotally andslidably connecting said top member with said bottom member.

BRUCE K. SLONNEGER.

CLIFFORD S. SLONNEGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number Number 12 STATES FATENTS Name Date Kearney Aug. 14, 1900 RichterDec. 25, 1906 Gibbs Jan. 31, 1933 Clark June 6, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTSCountry Date Great Britain July 20, 1933

